Brookland-Cayce’s Reed Charpia
As South Carolina high school football comes to a close and the FBS playoffs are getting underway in about a week, there are other teams fighting for championships.
The Newberry College Wolves are in the Division 2 semifinals for the first time in program history. The Wolves are led by former Brookland-Cayce quarterback Reed Charpia and former Ben Lippen wide receiver Rico Dorsey Jr.
Both Charpia and Dorsey bounced around and journeys to several schools before they led the Wolves to unprecedented heights.
After wrapping up his Bearcat career in 2018, Charpia initially went to the University of South Carolina. He then transferred to Georgia Military College in 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia Military College did not have a season so Charpia transferred to Louisburg College in North Carolina before spending a year at North Carolina State. Then in 2023, Charpia found himself at Newberry College.
“When he came out of high school, we had watched film on him and talked with him. We tried to get him to take a good look at us,” Newberry College head coach Todd Knight said. “Reed was hot coming out of high school. There were a lot of people talking to him. I think he did the right thing going to a bigger school than us at that point in his career.
Ben Lippen’s Rico Dorsey Jr. File Photos
“I was standing on the sidelines with him at spring practice a couple of years ago, and I asked him, ‘We talked to you out of high school. It’s been so many years and you’ve bounced around to so many different places, why Newberry? Why now?’ His response to me was, ‘Coach, I want to come here to win a championship.’ It took him a year or so, but he kept his word. He won the conference for us. He won the region for us. We’re still alive. It’s been a long journey for Reed to make it to this point.”
“It just felt like a great group of players and coaches to be around,” Charpia said. “It just felt like a great program overall.”
After redshirting and running the scout team in 2023, Charpia became the starting quarterback for the Wolves in 2024. Injuries limited him to play in only six games. Charpia came out of preseason camp this year as the clear starter.
“I think he and (offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach) Cole Watson have developed a great relationship, and that’s going back to the offseason,” Knight said. “Cole and Reed spent a lot of time together in the offseason, the summer program, camp, and throughout the season. That’s been big for us. This is the first year we had the summer program in place, and I think it was big for Reed and Cole to continue that relationship.
“With me, it’s more of a leadership role for Reed. He’s a gray stripe, a captain. He knows what I expect of him as a role model, as a leader on the team.”
Charpia has responded by completing 296-of-437 passes for 3,630 yards and 29 touchdowns. He holds the record for single season passing yards, completions, and touchdowns thrown.
“I think the chemistry has been a big reason for our success this year,” Charpia said. “Keeping the same guys throughout the last couple of years has helped build that chemistry.”
Charpia’s ability to keep plays alive has also helped with the offense’s success.
“I’m not sure if Reed’s style of play fits any offense,” Knight said. “I have this saying, ‘Every team has their own identity.’ Some are serious. Some are really tight. Some are loose and confident. I can’t change that personality or the makeup of that team. I can try to help them be better, but they are going to be who they are. Well, Reed Charpia is going to be who he is. I can’t change him to make it fit into a certain mold that we want here. Does he know the playbook? Absolutely. Is he executing the call? Absolutely. There are times when he gets off the page, and he makes it right. Some way, somehow he finds a way. If he got credit for all the yards he runs east and west, he’d probably lead the league in rushing. At the end of the day, he finds a way. At times he stands in the pocket and delivers a great ball. Then there are times when the play breaks down and it’s him and (wide receivers) Keith Desaussure and De’Andre Coleman in the backyard just running around and playing ball, and it works.”
Charpia has a deep group of receivers to throw to, including Dorsey. Similar to Charpia, Dorsey has traveled a long road to get to Newberry. After his time at Ben Lippen, Dorsey moved to Mississippi with former Falcons’ head coach Derek White. After high school, Dorsey’s collegiate career began at Southern Mississippi University. He later transferred to Coastal Carolina before settling in at Newberry College in January 2024.
“It was closer to home,” Dorsey said. “I’m not too far from where I’m from. I’m familiar with guys like Reed, who are from my area.”
Dorsey is third on the team with 46 catches for 612 yards and seven touchdowns.
Both Charpia and Dorsey said it was a team goal to make it to the semifinals. Certain moments have reaffirmed that expectation like a season-opening 31-24 win at UVA Wise; the lone blemish on the record, a 21-10 loss against Catawba College; and an 18-point comeback at Albany State in the quarterfinals to win 31-24 and punch their ticket to the semifinals.
“We talk all the time as a team and with the coaches, it’s not about who we are playing,” Charpia said. “It’s really more about us and doing what we do and execute.”
The Wolves reached the playoffs by winning the South Atlantic Conference title. They’ve won three postseason games, defeating Kentucky State, West Florida, and Albany State. Two of those games were on the road.
“I think we play in one of the toughest conferences in the country,” Charpia said. “Every single week throughout the regular season there are no easy games. Just playing those games throughout the year, I think, has prepared us for the playoffs.”
What adds to the moment for Charpia is his grandfather, also named Reed, lettered as a football and baseball player for Newberry College in the 1960s. He later came back to coach the then-Indians for four seasons in the 1970s. He was inducted into the Newberry College Hall of Fame in 2017.
“It’s pretty cool,” Charpia said. “Knowing he played here a while ago, having this success is pretty cool.”
The younger Reed played for his dad, Rusty, and his grandfather at Brookland-Cayce.
Now Charpia, Dorsey, and the rest of the Wolves travel to Big Rapids, Michigan to face the defending Division 2 national champion Ferris State Bulldogs. Neither Charpia or Dorsey have ever traveled to Michigan. Dorsey is looking forward to the plane ride. Ferris State has won three of the last four national championships and made it to the championship game four times in the last seven years. This isn’t new territory necessarily for the Wolves. They’ve knocked off West Florida and Valdosta State in years where those teams were defending national champions. However, to pull it off again and make their first national championship game appearance, they will need big performances from both Dorsey and Charpia.
“Rico is going to have to make a play or two over the top, but also make contributions on special teams,” Knight said. “He did a great job against Albany State in punt return. I’m expecting something big from him on Saturday.
“Obviously Reed is the wild card. When he’s hot, it goes really well. When he has an off day, and he hasn’t had many of those, he’s found a way. If he’s a little sluggish or a little off on that day, the special teams find a way to make a play or the defense comes up with a stop here or there or gets a pick. He’s going to have to have a good day. I’m not trying to put all the pressure on him, but he’s the key for us offensively. When he plays well, everything clicks.”
Newberry College and Ferris State kick off Saturday, December 13 at noon.
Other area players include Jamarious Lockett from Gray Collegiate Academy, Izayah Whiteside from Irmo High School, Will Young V from Brookland Cayce High School, Josh Smith from Dreher High School, Ryan Love from Irmo High School, Cam Newton from Lower Richland High School, Davion Pyles from Irmo High School, Matthew Blocker from Irmo High School, Sean Goddard from Westwood High School, Zeke Haire from Irmo High School, Jordan Kennedy from Heathwood Hall School, Whenston McLeod from Cardinal Newman High School, and Heath Moser from A.C. Flora High School.
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